Japan Says, “The Unidentified Boat Shoot Bantam Rocket Gun“

Concerning the sink of an unidentified boat that is suspected as a North Korean spy boat, Japan Coast Guard (JCG) announced, "2 or 3 crew of the unidentified boat aimed bantam rocket guns at 2 patrol boats and fired, but they missed the target. "

An official of JCG suggested that the boat might be a North Korean spy boat saying, "The unidentified boat is likely to be equipped with other heavy weapons as well as automatic rifles. "

Koizumi Junichiro, the Prime Minister of Japan, ordered to examine the reason why the boat couldn`t be captured and to take a measure for effective block or capture of an unidentified boat.

The Japanese government is trying to identify the nationality of the boat, and after identifying; it will take powerful diplomatic steps on the country. The Japanese government is considering the salvage of the sunken boat to collect concrete evidences.

The JCG will organize the investigation headquarters, which is for a murder attempt and interference of governmental execution case, seriously regarding the injuries of the 2 coastal guards. It will conduct an autopsy of the two recovered corpses.

ksshim@donga.com